Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all! I pray it has been a time of joy and renewal for everyone. After my rather significant work-induced hiatus, I'm going to try to get this blog a little more updated. Thankfully, things have been relatively calmer this second semester here in Rome.

During Lent we had the blessed opportunity to take part in the ancient Roman tradition of station churches. Each day in Lent, there is a different church designated as a pilgrimage destination with Masses celebrated there throughout the day. We would leave the college between 5:45 and 6:25 AM to walk to the church of the day, at which Mass would be celebrated at 7:00 AM. It was very beautiful getting to experience so much Roman history in the various churches. This was also a very good experience for developing a better knowledge of how to get around in Rome. Now when people come and visit I can actually point them in the direction of the Coliseum and get them there on foot rather than just giving them the number of the bus to take. One of the perks about the station Masses which the most guys loved had to be the breakfast afterward. If we went to the station Mass, we were permitted to eat breakfast at our sister college for student priests, the Casa Santa Maria. They had real eggs, soft bread, everything an American could want except meat, which is virtually impossible to find for breakfast in Europe, anyway.

I do not have any pictures from the station churches, but I do have pictures I will post from my trip after Easter and from our Roman blizzard of 2010. Stay tuned for these as well as more info about Easter itself and our annual Rector's Dinner fundraising event we had this week. More soon.

The Roman Blizzard of 2010

So here are the pictures from the great Roman Blizzard of 2010, which hit us on February 12. According to the workers here at the college, it was the largest snowstorm Rome had seen in 25 years. It progresses relatively chronologically, except for the last two, which are my favorites. I awoke in the morning perplexed, because I saw out my window what looked like incredibly large rain drops. I had been in Rome long enough that snow didn't even register in my mind as a possibility. It quickly progressed throughout the day, then was over before lunch. It was a real treat, as I had been going through snow withdrawal by that point during the winter. Unfortunately for many of the guys in the house, this was a travel weekend, so two thirds of the house didn't get to see the rare Roman snowfall. I was very happy I decided to take the weekend off. Enjoy the pictures.

Here is the enormous snow goalie that some of the guys in the house made.

Just as quickly as it came, the snow was over. Here we are, returning from our exciting snowball fight in St. Peter's Square.

Now my favorite two pictures- very different views of a snow covered St. Peter's Basilica.